Power 6/32

3D rendering in Young Sherlock Holmes

The Tahoe was the code name for the Power 6/32 from Computer Consoles Incorporated that the CSRG had ported 4.3 BSD to in the 4.3 BSD Tahoe release.

Although the Tahoe did help separate out a lot of VAX specific code from the base, allowing BSD to become more portable, the Power 6/32 machine quickly disappeared off the market, and not much is known about them.

Unisys sold the 6/32 under the name "Unisys 7000/40", using their own bastardized BSD+SYSV unix. Kuwait Petroleum in Denmark had one of them. Harris had the HCX-5, 7, and 9 models, running the SysV derivative HCX/UX. ICL had the Clan 7.

All that I can find out about them is this table from http://www.dunnington.u-net.com/public/dhrystone.c (archive link)

 *----------------DHRYSTONE VERSION 1.0 RESULTS BEGIN--------------------------
 *
 * MACHINE      MICROPROCESSOR  OPERATING       COMPILER        DHRYSTONES/SEC.
 * TYPE                         SYSTEM                          NO REG  REGS
 * --------------------------   ------------    -----------     ---------------
 * CCI POWER 6/32               COS(SV+4.2)     cc              7500    7800
 * CCI POWER 6/32               POWER 6 UNIX/V  cc              8236    8498
 * CCI POWER 6/32               4.2 Rel. 1.2b   cc              8963    9544
 * VAX 11/780   -               UNIX 5.2        cc              1515    1562
 * VAX 11/780   -               UNIX 4.3bsd     cc              1646    1662

Which may give some indication on the initial reasons why the Power 6/32 was chosen as the sucessor to the VAX by CSRG.

Pixar used a Power 6/32 to render the stained glass knight in the 1985 movie Young Sherlock Holmes.